My Mischellany Of Harry Potter Challenges
by Siriuslyy Serious
Summary: My 'file' of challenges / drabbles that i will collect overtime.
1. Chapter 1

_(Written challenge from Lamia of the Dark) :)_

 _Title: Nothing Is Easy_

 _Prompt: Taking care of a baby_

 _OTP: James & Lily Potter_

* * *

 ** _XoX_**

"I know honey, but she means well. You know that."

"I know, Lils… but she calls _every-single-day_."

A rather short girl with long wavy red hair, and emerald green eyes began shuffling through her purse as they reached the dark chestnut door of the Potter Cottage; having the invisibility cloak thrown off her.

"You have to admit, James, my mum has been quite helpful the past few months." She looked over at her husband; tall with tousled dark hair and square spectacles that sat in front of his hazel eyes. "Merlin… where are the keys?"

"Oh! Uhm…" James settled down the baby carrier by his feet, as he began searching all his pockets and the diaper bag.

"James!" Lily yelled out, alerting her husband as he quickly glanced at Harry who was holding his key ring and trying to place it in his mouth.

James bent down, taking the keys away and replacing it with a teething ring. "Lil' man nicked my keys."

Lily took hold of them, unlocking the front door and entering; throwing the keys down on the hallway table. "He's already turning out to be as mischievous as you."

James followed closely behind, setting the carrier down and taking Harry out; holding him close to his chest. "Please, until he puts a charm on all the chairs in potions class that makes people fall through them when they sit… I am still the champion." He said proudly, grinning down at Harry who's wandering hand laid on top of James' lips.

Lily rolled her eyes, throwing her scarf on the coat rack and placing a hand on the back of Harry's head, kissing him lightly, and then turning to her husband to place her lips on his. "I'm going to get washed up, mind putting Harry down?"

"No problem, mama."

"Goodnight Harry, dear. Mommy loves you." Lily smiled down at her son, caressing his baby soft head before ascending the stairs to the bedroom.

James reached down to grab the diaper bag, and ascended to Harry's room. He opened the door, flicking on the soft yellow light and dropping the bag down on the rocking chair by the entrance. James walked across the room to the small wooden crib that already contained Harry's soft blankets and small toys. Carefully, he put him down; wrapping him lightly in his soft blue covers and leaning over the side of the crib.

"Alright little man, I trust you'll actually get some sleep tonight. Daddy's tired; Daddy had to listen to Grandma talk about all the different types of baby formula's… and all these muggle ways of baby proofing the house…" James gazed lovingly at his son, rubbing his tired eyes while Harry smiled up at him. "Yea, I think it's silly too. Besides, wouldn't you say mommy and I are doing a good job so far?" Harry continued smiling just before shoving a teething ring inside his mouth. "I'm sure I'll hear enough about it when you turn into a teenager." James joked, remembering not too long ago he was a teenager himself, having pointless fights with his parents and going through that stage every parent had to prepare the most for. "Love you buddy, good night." James kissed him lightly just before turning off the lights and heading towards his bedroom where Lily was already under the covers, leaning against the headboard with a book under her nose.

James kicked off his shoes, and began dressing into his sleepwear.

"Everything go alright?" Lily asked, flipping a page in her muggle book.

"Yep, I'm sure he'll just drift off soon." James accompanied his wife, throwing his spectacles off on the bedside table and pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Are you okay?"

"Yea, just mentally preparing myself for baby proofing the entire house tomorrow the ' _muggle'_ way."

Lily grinned, "Mum told me once that when Petunia was just about a year old, she had gotten into the kitchen cabinets. Apparently she knocked over the flour and the entire bag toppled down on her."

James laughed, "You did that when you were sixteen baking that birthday cake for Remus, don't you forget."

"I don't think you'll ever let me." Lily turned over, turning the lamp off and setting her book aside as she got comfortable in her bed covers. "Mind turning on the monitor?"

"I hate these things." James grabbed onto the baby monitor sitting beside his bed, looking at the object as if it came from the year 3000. He'd use it a few time before, but he could never remember how to work the muggle thing. He began turning dials, and pressing buttons till he heard a quiet noise. Turning it up, the quiet noise turned into a loud screeching static sound that scratched at their ears.

"Turn it down!" Lily yelled over the sound, cupping her ears.

"I don't know how… this bloody thing won't shut up!" James was turning the monitor in all directions, trying desperately to look for the correct buttons.

Lily grabbed onto the monitor, turning the dial to channel two and lowering the volume so all that was heard was white noise. Lily was better at the muggle things her mum insisted on the two having; she did live with non-magic folk all her life. James on the other hand… was feeling overwhelmed with the lack of magic that was being used because Lily's mum deemed it _'unsafe'_.

' _What if you accidentally turn him into a cat? Or burn the bottle so the milk is too hot? Or drop the carrier because your wand-thing was pointing in the wrong direction?'_

James understood that she didn't understand magic as much as he and Lily did; but they were some of the best wizards in their graduating class! Surely they could at least use a simple levitating spell to carry all their things… but whatever made Mrs. Evans' happy made Lily happy; and when Lily was happy, James felt like he was doing his job.

"It's alright, you'll get it." Lily ran her fingers through his untidy hair, pushing it out of his face before placing the baby monitor down beside her.

James turned over, relaxing his arm around her torso and holding his wife close so he could feel the strands of her red hair tickle his neck, and smell the soft scent of shampoo that lingered. He took a deep breath, finally getting to shut his eyes as he began drifting into sleep while feeling the calm rise and fall of Lily's stomach.

It seemed like eternity since they'd shut their eyes; Godric's Hallow was quiet and still, the moonlight was shining in through the bedroom curtains, and the soft purple nightlight creeped down the hallway into the view of their opened door from Harry's bedroom.

It seemed like months since Lily and James had an actual good nights' rest. They were always up and about, running from and to Harry's room; trying everything they could to be the modeling parents they read about in muggle books. Deep down they knew no parent was perfect… but the added pressure from being so young, made them terrified to what people would say if Harry didn't turn out right. Of course, they kept this to themselves.

Now, about that good nights' rest…

…

The alarming cries of a distressed baby came blaring out of the baby monitor. Lily pushed on James' shoulder, "James… James it's your turn."

James groaned in response, turning over so he was face down in his pillow.

Lily let out a harsh breath, throwing the covers off and dragging her feet across the hallway to Harry's bedroom. The loud cries amplified once she walked in. She hurried over to the crib, picking up Harry in her arms. "Sh, it's okay. Mommy's here," She bounced him lightly, trying to calm him down but nothing seemed to be working. Lily grabbed her wand, flicking it towards the small radio on the windowsill so classical music flowed gently throughout the room.

"Sh… Harry, please. It's alright…" Lily said, continuing to lightly bounce her son. "Hear that? It's piano. _Da-da…da-da-da_ …" She started to quietly sing to the tune of the piano, but Harry's face was even redder than before.

Suddenly, shuffling footsteps approached and James was now in the room, groggily looking up at his exhausted wife.

"James…" Lily gave him a pleading look. James turned off the radio, grabbing his acoustic guitar and sitting down on the rocking chair. "What are you doing?"

"The boy doesn't like classical, babe. It's simple – he's a Potter, he simply likes Rock n Roll'." James said, tuning his guitar.

"James… I don't know…"

James began strumming; and what seemed to be working throughout the past few versus, suddenly got louder as if the volume on Harry was turned up as loud as the volume of the baby monitor.

"James, I think that's too harsh right now." Lily began clearing the tears off Harry's reddened cheeks.

James exhaled, putting away his guitar and taking hold of Harry in his arms. "How do you not like Buddy Holly?"

"James!"

"Alright, alright. Uhm…

' _Before you cross the street,  
Take my hand,  
Life is what happens to you,  
While you're busy making other plans.  
Beautiful boy.'"_

James tried singing in a hushed tone, yet it just seemed his voice was drowned out by the loud screams.

"How can such a little boy, produce so much sound?"

Lily crossed her arms over her chest, unsure on what else to do. "Maybe… put on your Dumbledore costume?"

James glanced over at her, "What? No way. That was for Halloween one year, and _one year only_." He said, keeping his dignity.

"Then I don't know James! I'm out of options, and I'm not sure what to do." Lily slumped down into the rocking chair, putting her head in her hands. "This is hard… and the neighbors can probably hear us failing right now."

James placed Harry back in the crib, bending down so he was eye-level with Lily; placing a comforting hand on her arm. "Hey… don't be like that, Lils. We're not failing… we're just… having a tough time. We can get through this, okay? I'll figure something out."

Lily's green eyes glossed over his, and she gave a small nod.

James stood up, looking around the room for anything that would help the situation… He hurried over to Harry's play chest, swishing his wand so it illuminated and shuffled through the box. He hadn't noticed it before, considering his head was deep in the toy box and he was more focused on what toy would be amusing enough for the kid to fall asleep to… but it dawned on him that the only noise he could now hear was himself throwing toys around in the box. James turned around; Lily looking as surprised as James, noticing Harry was looking directly at the light on the tip of James' wand.

"This?" James said, pointing to the wand. He flicked the light off, gaining the oncoming weeps of Harry until James turned it back on.

"He likes the light, James." Lily said, tucking Harry in. "Can you keep it on?"

"Isn't it a bit bright? It'll keep the baby up, no?"

"Can't you dim it?"

James shrugged, then an idea popped in his head.

* * *

It only took about an hour, but Harry had finally fallen asleep holding his favourite dragon stuffed animal in his small hands. James leaned against the crib, holding tiredly at his wand where his light blue stag patronus stood; in the corner of the room. He looked back at Harry relieved, putting down his wand so the room grew dark, all but that one purple nightlight.

"Lils." James looked down at Lily who was laying asleep on his lap. He pushed her long red hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear; feeling too guilty to move and wake her up now. Instead, he grabbed a pillow in reach and slipped it behind his head, preparing himself for an uncomfortable sleep against Harry's wooden crib.

The next morning, Lily was awoken by soft cries from Harry. James turned in his sleep, as Lily immediately went to hold her baby boy.

"James. I need you to wake up." Lily poked her husband, whose head rested between the wooden bars of the crib; the pillow nearly slipping from behind his neck.

"Lily quit your crying, it's only one date." James said in his sleep.

Lily rolled her eyes and Harry threw his teething ring down at James so it bonked the top of his glasses. James immediately woke up, looking around the room and holding his wand out in alert.

"Who did that!" James quickly searched for his glasses and slipped them on, noticing Lily looking down at him raising an eyebrow.

"Harry's methods of waking you up seem to be much better than mine." Lily said, handing Harry over to James. "I'm going to make him some food. I think he's hungry."

"Oh man, me too." Lily looked back at James, and he immediately took it back. "That's why I'll make breakfast for the both of us later?" Lily grinned and exited the room, going down to the kitchen to make Harry's breakfast.

James brought Harry down to the living room, placing him on the floor and propping a pillow behind him so he wouldn't topple over. He leaned in, kissing the tip of his nose which made a smile dance on Harry's lips.

"Honey, the post is here!" Lily yelled from the kitchen.

"I'll be right back bud." James hurried off to the kitchen where Lily was microwaving baby food in small increments to make sure the temperature was just right. "It'll be faster if you use your wand you know?" James suggested, grabbing the mail and looking through the envelopes.

"Anything from Dumbledore?"

"Hm… bills… bills… your mother… _how did she even mail us that fast?"_

"James… Dumbledore?"

"Right, right… ugh… nope." James tore open the bills as Lily began mixing the baby food into a bowl.

She sighed, "I hate running around with that invisibility cloak of yours…"

"I know honey, but Dumbledore thinks this is the best option for us right now." James threw the envelopes down on the table, and walked back to the living room where Harry had fallen over on his side, rolling around on the carpet.

"What are you doing, silly one?" James picked up Harry and placed the pillow to his side; which didn't help much because Harry would just fall over on the opposite end. "Are you playing games with me?"

Harry smiled, as James picked him up and fixed the pillows so they were on either side of Harry. He was in his own little box now; James' idea to stop the baby from falling.

Lily entered the living room, looking at him confused. "What are you doing to our son?"

"He was falling over. Now he can't." James said proudly, holding his finger out at Harry as he gripped onto it with his tiny fingers.

"Here, use the high-chair." Lily unfolded the high-chair and placed the baby food on the tray.

James lifted Harry and slipped him into the highchair before running off to take a quick morning shower. Lily slipped his bib around his neck, and began spoon feeding Harry some sweet potatoes.

"Open up, love." It took a few tries but Lily had finally gotten the food inside his mouth; the only issue now was keeping it there. Harry began spitting the food right out, after nearly every spoonful.

"No, Harry. You've got to eat it." Lily said, trying to scoop the food back into his mouth. "Come on, open up." Harry stared at her with wide blank eyes as he grabbed onto the spoon instead and splattered the food all over himself and Lily.

"No! Harry, let go of the spoon for mama please." Lily tried to carefully unravel his tiny fingers from the spoon but Harry had other plans; he decided to throw the object at Lily's chest; causing a huge mess of food all over the two of them. Lily sighed, trying to clean herself off and trying desperately to get her son to finish his meal.

* * *

It was a tedious 20 minutes, but she managed to finish the entire container of sweet potatoes; even though most of it was on their clothes…

James walked in, drying his hair with a towel and stopping in his tracks upon the look of his wife and son covered in food.

"Lily, you told me food fights were immature." James joked, as Lily finished cleaning Harry's face.

"They are. Your son is only a few months, you were 13." She grinned, taking off the bib and wiping her clothes with a napkin. "I'm going to do the laundry before this stains." Lily hurried to wash out her clothes, leaving James and Harry alone in the living room.

"Alright, looks like it's just you and me little man." James picked up Harry, laying down on the floor while holding his baby boy above him. James looked into his son's deep green eyes, his mouth curved into a smile upon hearing Harry's joyous laughs. James swayed him lightly in the air, "You like that? I see those smiles. This is what it's like to fly on a broom." Harry's giggles warmed James' heart; he lowered Harry placing his lips on his cheeks. "You're goin' to be a Quidditch man like me."

Suddenly, James heard a loud ringing coming from the kitchen. "I'll be back bud, why don't you draw me an awesome picture?" He said, placing Harry by his crayons and hurrying over to the telephone Lily insisted on having in the house. It was mainly used for the consistent calls her mother made.

James picked up the line, "Hello?"

" _Hey, man."_

"Padfoot? How are you calling me?"

" _With a telephone you git, don't you have one?"_

James narrowed his eyes, "How do you even know what a telephone is?"

" _Marlene insisted because Lily was talking about it. Who are we going to call on this bloody thing but you two? Anyways, was just checkin' up on you."_

"We're all good here." James said, leaning his head against the wall with his eyes closed; feeling exhausted.

" _Been a while, I know you're busy with Harry and all. Listen, do you guys need some help?"_

"Help? Nah, uhm…" James sighed deeply, "We've got it under control."

" _Because that sounded convincing."_

"Listen-" James turned his head to check up on Harry; his eyes widened in surprise when he noticed Harry swinging a wand around. James looked down at his back pants pocket, and realized he must've nicked it from him. "Merlin… uhm, sorry Pad's, I've got to go!"

" _Wait Pro-"_

James slammed on the receiver and hurried back into the living room where Harry was flicking James' wand at the cat, turning the poor animal's fur pink. "Harry, no! That's daddies!" James grabbed his wand from his son, stuffing it in his pockets and enabling the alarming cries out of his baby boy. "Oh… come on, don't cry lil' man." James picked up Harry, holding him close against his chest and rocking his lightly. "Please don't cry, you'll get a wand someday. It'll be even cooler than mine, so don't be upset." James could feel Harry's tears run down his cheeks and land on his neck.

Lily rushed into the room, buttoning up her blouse; "What's happened? Is he hurt?" She asked alarmed.

"…No, he grabbed hold of my wand."

" _What?!"_ The situation was put on hold momentarily while the doorbell echoed through the house. "Who's that?"

"Dunno. We're not expecting anyone." Lily gave a worried look to her husband, "Don't worry, they can't find us under the protective spell, Lils." The doorbell rang again… and again… till Lily finally swung open the front door to be greeted by a man with long black hair and a leather jacket, accompanied by a girl with lengthy blonde hair and an enthusiastic smile on her face.

"Lils!" Marlene jumped on her friend, wrapping her arms around her.

"Marls… Sirius…" Lily said, muffled in her friend's jacket.

"Can we come in?" Sirius asked, stepping inside the house and walking towards the living room, "Already am. Where's Prongs?"

Lily looked back at Sirius, "By the T.V."

"Been a while since I've been here," Marlene said, surveying the house with her bright blue eyes.

Lily closed the door and lead Marlene into the living room where Sirius took hold of Harry, who hadn't given up crying.

"What'd you do to my god-son?" Sirius looked up at James who crossed his arms against his chest.

Marlene rushed over to Harry, softly running her hand across the back of his head. "Maybe he needs his god-mother."

"No, I'm definitely the cooler god-parent." Sirius insisted, rocking Harry lightly.

"Guys… crying baby…" James interrupted.

"Right… I've got an idea," Sirius placed his god-son in the bassinet by the couch, watching as Harry's cheeks turned bright red. "Prongs, go get the Taylor."

"We tried that last night Sirius-"

"-But not with us here." Sirius said, interrupting Lily.

James quickly left and came back with his guitar, handing it over to his mate as everybody sat down on the couch around the bassinet. Sirius tuned the guitar, fixing the capo down the neck of the instrument and laying it comfortably on his leg.

"Gona' be like old times." Sirius said, grinning up at the three and looking down at the crying baby boy before him. He fixed his fingers on the D chord, and began finger picking a lovely, light tune.

Marlene smiled, parting her lips and singing, _"Little darling, it's been a long cold lonely winter."_ She looked up at her best mate, sitting across from her.

Lily shrugged, thinking 'why not'. _"Little darling, it feels like years since it's been here."_

" _Here comes the sun…"_ The four of them harmonized beautifully in Harry's ears; so much so that it seized his crying, for only now his wandering eyes were looking upon each of them curiously.

" _Here comes the sun, and I say. It's alright."_

* * *

After a miracle's work from the four, Harry was fast asleep. Sirius put the guitar down, kissing Harry lightly on his forehead and shifting the bassinet farther from the group so they wouldn't wake him. He slumped back down into the couch, kicking his feet up on the table, and relaxing his arms along the back of the couch. "Beautiful work my fellow Beatles."

James ran his fingers through his unruly hair, "Thanks a lot Pad's… we needed it…"

"I know you did, you just didn't want to admit it."

Marlene nodded, "Yeah, everybody needs help sometimes, so don't hesitate to ask."

"We're here for you." Sirius agreed.

"I appreciate everything, I do… so don't take this the wrong way when I ask… why are you here?" Lily added, leaning against James.

"When I called James didn't sound too convincing on the phone... he also hung up on me when I had information to tell you two… Wait a minute, is that a pink cat?" Sirius raised his eyebrows as he watched the furry pink cat hop onto the couch beside Marlene.

James leaned forward, fully attentive. "What is it, did Dumbledore say anything?"

"Has anything happened? Anything cleared up?" Lily asked hopefully.

Sirius shook his head, "No. Unfortunately there's no news from Dumbledore yet, but I've got news myself. I've been having suspicions lately."

"Suspicions?" James looked at him puzzled.

"Now hear me out, because this sounds from left field."

"It's about Remus." Marlene said; gaining the perturbed looks from Lily and James.

Sirius sat forward, looking at the two gravely now, "Remus hasn't been seen for a while, we're not sure where he is right now. It's weird, he just shows up out of nowhere sometimes, at first we thought it was just the transformations… then we found out a bit of information from The Order. Apparently Voldemort has been gaining followers; Werewolves. He's already got Fenrir, so it makes sense he'd join too."

Lily's brows drew together, "Just because he's a werewolf you think he'd join the Death Eaters?"

"That, and because he's already rejected by the wizarding world anyways. You remember how depressed he was about never finding a job, don't you Prongs? It just doesn't sit right with me…"

James' expression hardened "Say this is true… what do we do? Aren't we safe under protection anyways, you're the secret-keeper, not him."

Sirius drew a heavy breath, "Exactly why I'm here… so I've decided to resign last night."

" _You what?!"_ James and Lily exclaimed.

"I think it's for the best, Voldemort might be onto me with my suspicions. I can't put Harry at risk…"

Lily turned her neck to face Harry, watching his small chest rise and fall underneath the covers. Her chest tightened in fear for her baby boy. The two couldn't piece together why anybody would want to hurt their Harry; he is the center of their world, their little miracle. It nearly broke Lily's heart to hear she had to be under protection the first time, to hear she wouldn't be able to bring Harry to her friend's house, or have walks along the street, or family outings. Now, to hear that a fellow Marauder could be against them?... She wishes she could give Harry a better life than this.

Lily's lips trembled slightly as her emerald green eyes gazed into Sirius', "Who's our new secret-keeper?"

"It'll be someone Voldemort would never suspect, the weakest of the bunch. I promise you this will all work out…"

"Who is it Sirius?" James asked anxiously.

Sirius gave the two a convincing look of reassurance, "Wormtail."


	2. Two Mistmates

_(Written challenge from Lamia of the Dark) :)_

 _Title: Two Mismates_

 _Prompt: Imagine OTP being rejected by their soulmates, and realizing later on they're eachother's soulmates._

 _OTP: Sirius & Marlene_

* * *

"So when are you going to ask Evans to the party, Prongs?" He said as he stuffed his hands deep in his leather jacket pockets. He as in Sirius Black; the man who turned most heads while walking down the corridors of Hogwarts school, not even batting an eye at the girls who swooned over his prepossessing looks. He had, what girls evidently desired; that long inky black hair, tall fitted build, and the self-assured grin that played at the corners of his lips every-time he'd notice them. Though, with the many girls who would love to date Sirius Black, didn't get much of a chance. He wasn't usually a one gal type of man; it was hard to find someone who would like him for _him_. Yet he believes this year might be different, and it all started when he began talking to a certain tall, red-headed Gryffindor; of which he noticed got extremely fit over the summer, Mary MacDonald. She didn't seem like other girls to him, she didn't tug on his arms, stare at him from across the halls, or plead for his attention; and he loved the challenge.

A man with unruly dark hair, and square spectacles rubbed the back of his neck anxiously at the question, "I don't know… I'm trying to lay low this year."

"Had enough of your insufferable ideas of asking her out?" Sirius laughed.

"I've wasted five years chasing after her; this year I'm just going to have fun." James said determinedly.

"Yea, we'll see about that."

"What about you, Pad's?"

Sirius had definitely thought about it, and it was the first party of the year. It would be a good chance to get the relationship rolling now, and to see where it ends up. "Think I'll be asking a certain red-head later today in potions."

"Lily?"

Sirius looped his arm around James' neck, scuffing up his hair, "No you git, Mary."

James pushed himself off, running his fingers through his hair in an attempt to fix what was really already hopeless, "Ugh, why her?"

"Sorry?" Sirius gave him a dangerous look, and James proceeded with caution.

"It's just… she doesn't really match well with the group, you know?"

"What do you mean? She's hot, and knows French."

"So what, you don't even know a single word in that language."

"I speak in tongues." Sirius smirked.

"I'm just saying, she doesn't know anyone in the group but you; so it's always kind of awkward… Why not someone like, Alice or Marlene?" James suggested, in hopes his friend would drop what he felt would be a mismate.

"First off, Alice is already pretty much engaged to Frank… and Marlene? Eh, she's friends with Lily, how could she possibly be my type? You've just got to get to know her."

James raised his eyebrows, compromising with the fact Sirius was too hard-headed to argue with anyways. Hey, if Sirius really feels she is _'the one'_ , then why stop it?

* * *

 ** _XxX_**

"Are you sure Marls? I just… I don't know…" A short red-headed girl asked, breathlessly to her blonde, curly haired friend sitting beside her in the Great Hall.

"I told you Lils," Marlene started, stuffing a biscuit in her mouth, "I think he really likes me. I mean, what's not to like right? I've got nice skin… decent sized boobs," She said matter-of-factly.

Lily's eyebrows pushed together, gazing desperately at her friend; knowing this was a mistake ready to blow up any time soon. "I don't think Remus is the type of guy to really care about skin and boobs."

Marlene shrugged, taking another large bite out of her biscuit, "It's all I have to cover my shitty personality, so."

"You don't have a bad personality, Marls… you just… haven't found the right guy. Maybe you would if you stopped hopping around so much. I swear I try to get away from Sirius, not talk to him in a girl's uniform."

"Okay, come on. I'm nothing like Sirius."

"Well, you're tolerable." Lily grinned, unraveling the daily prophet before her and fixing it straight so she could read.

"He's always so nice to me, Lils. He even asked me to the party in the common room this morning."

Lily peeked up from the paper to give her friend a puzzling look, "Remus… asked you…?"

Marlene slouched her shoulders in disappointment, "Well… not exactly," Lily's eyes rolled skyward as she went back to reading the paper. "But he invited me, so it's pretty much the same thing. You'll see, Lily, it'll all work out."

"Whatever you say, Marls." Lily muttered, taking a sip of her tea and just beginning to enjoy a small article on a recent potions study when a group of loud men invaded her quiet time.

Sirius, and James made their presence quite clear once they walked into the Great Hall, laughing loudly and poking each-other with their wands. The two took seats in front of the girls, their faces red of energy, and Lily's irritated like no other. Marlene just smiled at the two, tapping her hand on James' across the table.

"What's so funny?"

James poured himself some pumpkin juice, letting out the rest of the laughter the remained inside him. "We caught Snape in the hall on our way here."

"Yeah, don't think he was too happy to see James again this year." Sirius laughed, nudging his friend lightly as he caught Lily's deadpan stare.

"Stop laughing," Lily said to Marlene, who tried to hide any sign of laughter by covering her mouth with her hand.

"Come on, Evans. We do it mostly for you, you know. After what he said to you." Sirius was treading on thin ice, especially with a girl like Lily – but she let it pass. She too, didn't let go of what Severus said to her – calling her a mud blood. Though she didn't think Severus deserved all the torment since then. Marlene was a different story. Like the boys, she too believed Severus deserves what he gets… especially for the recent fights he's been getting into with the Marauders.

"Why don't you just give him a break?" Lily asked, though her tone wasn't too convincing.

"Honestly, the man should let loose and relax." Marlene suggested, pointing out how uptight the man could be, and how frequently he tries to apologize to Lily.

Sirius raised his cup, "Cheers to that. He should try and shag a few birds, might help him get over the red-head on reserve over here." He said, gesturing towards Lily while giving James a knowing look.

"To change the subject so I save any dignity I have left… who's bringing the beer?" James looked between the group, fixing his square spectacles up his nose.

"Beer? I'll be bringing the 80 proof." Marlene said without a second thought, a devious smile tugging at her lips.

Sirius nodded in agreement, "Yeah Prongs, have you seen anybody at our parties ever drink beer?"

James quirked an eyebrow, "Mary likes beer." His voice heightened in interest as he grinned at Sirius who completely changed directions.

"Yup, I'll be supplying the beer my crazy haired friend."

"Who's Mary?" Marlene's eyes flashed with interest, though in the back of her mind she thought it was just another girl he'd invite to his closet.

"No-one just-"

"Some girl Padfoot's been crushing on lately." James interrupted, laughing at his friend's sudden embarrassment.

"I don't do that to you, man." Sirius said, sticking his fork in his pasta.

"Ugh, yeah you do."

"Is it serious?" Marlene asked, smiling up at the two boys shoving each-other hopelessly as James let on a boyish grin.

"I don't do girl talk McKinnon." Sirius finalized, standing up from his spot and throwing his napkin down on the table.

James stood up, leaning across the table and looking directly into Marlene's bright blue eyes, "She's hot though, so it's true love." He whispered, stifling a laugh when Sirius returned to pull him out of Marlene's face and to follow him out of the Great Hall. "See you Marls."

Marlene waved him off, taking a bite of her dinner and glancing over at Lily who was shaking her head disapprovingly. "You know, he's pretty cute."

"Sirius?"

"No, Lils. James," Marlene raised her eyebrows in thought, "Yeah, I suppose Sirius is too."

"Please don't start this again…" Lily pleaded, dropping the daily prophet in front of her.

"You critique my relationship, I'll critique yours… You and James, are like Lucy and Ricky."

"Except we're wizards, and James isn't Spanish?" Lily tried to comprehend where she was going with this.

"And you haven't married him…" Marlene took her last sip out of her cup, looking up at Lily amused, "Yet."

Lily rolled her eyes, and the two got up, exiting the Great Hall.

* * *

 ** _XxX_**

Sirius entered the common room, which held a few occupants sitting on the couches in front of the fire. He slinked over, smoothly resting his arms on the back of the couch and looking down at Mary who was just inches from his presence.

"Evening ladies." Sirius let out that winning smile to Mary and her friends who were practically swooning over him; though Mary only gave him a look that lasted a second.

"Hello, Sirius." Mary said, lightly hitting her friend's leg when she wouldn't stop dazing at the Marauder.

"You've probably heard already, because really who hasn't? Big beginning of the year Marauder party tonight, you ladies coming?"

Mary's friend's eyes widened with uplifting excitement, as she just shrugged flipping the pages in her Herbology book. "Yeah, I guess we can stop by."

"Brilliant," Sirius straightened his back, fixing his jacket comfortably on his shoulders.

"Where is it?" Mary asked, looking up at Sirius who gazed at her blankly.

' _Where is it, did she really just ask that? Who doesn't know where the Marauder parties are held… only someone who hasn't ever been to one.'_

He scratched the back of his head, "It's in the room of requirement."

"The require… sorry you lost me."

Sirius tried to keep a straight face, then a lightbulb went off in that pretty head of his, "I'll show you, just be ready by nine."

Mary nodded, "Sure."

Sirius grinned at the girls one last time, waving his fingers at the lot as he went up the stairs to the boy's dormitory.

He barged opened the door, making yet another noticeable entrance as his Marauder mates looked up at him, then back down at whatever they were doing; seeing as it was normal for Sirius act as such.

"Alright boys, it's time to pass it on." Sirius announced, walking over to his bed and shuffling through his trunk.

"Sorry, Pad's… pass what on exactly?" Remus asked, closing his transfiguration book and setting it aside.

"Probably whatever he got from all those girls he's shagged." Peter joked, as Sirius threw a pillow at his face.

"Ha-ha, thank you Wormtail, but no." He pulled out a small purple book, about the size of his hand and raised it in the air for all to see. "This little number."

"Your Bird Book?" James looked at him as if his mate had gone mental. "But that's like… your most valuable possession, mate."

"Yeah, holds all the girls who'd do practically anything with anyone and their contact information." Remus made a sarcastic gasp, for the book didn't seem to hold anything of significance, at least for him.

"This is why you're McCharmly, and I'm sure someone can appreciate the effort I put into this little holy grail of birds. Perhaps our dear friend Ringo." Sirius suggested, raising an eyebrow at Peter who sat there speechless at the request.

"Me? Ah, I don't know Sirius… I'm not really good… with you know… girls and such." Peter hung his head, a bit embarrassed.

Sirius sat beside him, patting him roughly on the back and placing the book on Peter's lap. "We'll help you out, mate. You're the only one who can have it now. McCharmly over there sees girls for…" Sirius began snapping as he tried to recollect a quote Remus once said, "What was it Moony?"

"Their personality? That thing you naturally overlook." Remus said, continuing his readings.

"That's right, and Prongsy isn't over Evans, no matter how much he wants to prove to us he is."

" _I am,"_ James shouted from the bathroom.

"He's not. Anyways, so you're the next contestant. Holds most girls in our grade, and a few below. Enjoy yourself, mate." Sirius gave him one last pat on the back before returning to his own bed. "I've got one woman to worry about now."

* * *

 ** _XxX_**

"So tell me, Lils…" Marlene pulled out two dresses on hangers, placing them in front of her at a time to give her friend an idea of what they'd look like on her. "The red one or the grey one?"

Lily zipped up her own green dress, turning to face Marlene who was desperately trying to find what to wear. "Grey one, definitely."

"You're right, it's suede. He'll want to touch me to feel it, nice pick." Marlene smiled up at the grey dress, throwing the red one on her bed and slipping Lily's pick on.

"On second thought, can I change my mind?" Lily was still uneasy about this whole _'Remus and Marlene'_ idea she kept coming up with.

"Nope, I already love it on me." Marlene looked into the mirror, flattening out the grey suede dress; it had a halter neck line and a lace back – it complimented her shape in all the ways she wanted it to, to impress Remus.

Suddenly, the door of the dormitory opened and Mary came walking inside with her two friends nearly latched onto her arms; talking excitedly about Sirius' party.

"Oh, Mary! You have to wear the pink dress!" One of her friends said, playing with Mary's hair.

"No way, the white one definitely." Her other friend argued, pulling that dress out of Mary's closet.

"Girls, girls. Relax, it's just a party." Mary raised her hands trying to cease the overwhelming ambiance her friends were letting off. She walked over to her closet, grabbing the pink dress and changing into it.

"It's not just a party," Her friend said, the other agreeing with her. "It's a Marauder's party, and Sirius asked _you_."

"Yeah, Mary. You have to let us in on all the detail later."

Marlene looked at Lily, the two sharing the same incredibly awkward looks as they accidentally listened on Mary's conversation. They _were_ being loud.

"What do you mean details?" Mary asked, pulling her hair up into a loose bun.

"When you guys get together, obviously."

Mary narrowed her eyes, "Excuse me? I'm not shagging that man, if you want details on that ask the girl over there." Mary and her friend's eyes met with Marlene's for a split second before they continued talking again, trying to whisper but Marlene could still make it out. "She shags any guy that breaths."

Marlene's jaw dropped, and if it weren't for her red-headed friend holding her back, she'd walk over to Mary and handle the situation herself.

"Calm down, Marls. Let's just go." Lily suggested, pushing her furious friend outside the dormitory.

Marlene looked back at the girls who were now giggling upon their exit, wondering how Sirius picked such a winner.

* * *

 ** _XxX_**

Sirius walked with Mary down the 7th floor corridor, his hands in his pockets while hers clutched onto her handbag. The two walked in silence for quite a while, besides the abrupt giggles from her friends who trailed behind – but not too close. Once they reached a small wooden door in the middle of two goblets, he cleared his throat looking at the girl beside him.

"This is it, the room of requirement." Sirius gestured at the door, gaining Mary's interest.

"Wow, I never knew this was here."

"It's alright, many don't." _That many who don't go to their parties, which was only ever people in the lower years…_

He opened the door, and the immediate sounds of chatter were heard from the other side. He held it open as the girls walked inside, and he began following after.

"Hold up!"

Sirius looked down the hallway to a little girl running in her small grey dress and high heels. "Keep it open," Marlene yelled, finally reaching the door with a heavy breath. "Thanks."

Sirius' eyes felt pulled, for whatever reason, towards Marlene. She looked of something he'd never really imagined her to be. All that he could really make up for it was, _"Wow."_

Marlene's eyebrows furrowed, "Sorry?"

"What?" Sirius rubbed the back of his neck, holding the door open for the two to walk inside. "I said… _now_. As in get inside, _now_. I'm waiting." He cringed at his own explanation; that was completely out of his character.

Marlene felt taken back, "Uh, okay. Whatever." She walked inside and disappeared into the crowd.

Lily followed, patting Sirius on the shoulder, "Nice save." She laughed, disappearing into the crowd as well.

Sirius shut the door behind him, "It's gona be a long night."

* * *

 ** _XxX_**

Marlene had one cup in her hand, and one objective on her mind. That was, to find Remus. She stalked out the tall man out of the crowd, finding him leaning over by the turntable switching over records. She took a sip of her preferred drink to loosen herself up a bit, and walked over to Remus, hopping up on the table top beside him.

"Hey, Remus." She said, clasping the glass with her hands and swinging her legs freely.

Remus looked up for a mere moment while he was fixing the needle on the turntable. "Ah, hello Marlene. Glad to see you could make it."

Marlene thinned her lips trying to suppress a grin, "The only thing that could keep me would be the decision on what to wear." _'That was really stupid,' she thought._

Remus smiled warmly at her, "You look great tonight, Marlene. Don't worry about it."

"Thanks, Rem," He looked up at her confused at the sudden nickname. "So, what're you try'na play?"

"Well… it's a BadFinger record… but this bloody thing…" Remus struggled at the piece of technology, then suddenly the record scratched and the music began blasting throughout the room. "Ah, there we go."

"Awesome, I love this group." Marlene said, nodding her head in the rhythm of the music.

"Yeah, they're alright." Remus shoved his hands in his pockets, tapping his foot to the beat. "I'm going to head over to the boys over there, want to join me?"

"Oh!" Marlene hopped off the table, "Sure, yeah. Let's."

' _Stop talking.'_

* * *

 ** _XxX_**

"These are my brothers, Buddy Holly over here is James," Sirius began pointing to his friends one by one introducing Mary to them. "The youngest here is Peter, and ah there you are." Remus and Marlene came walking over, and the looks the two girls exchanged were quite noticeable to James' eyes. "This is Remus, our mediator. Marauders, Mary."

Mary waved lightly as the Marauders smiled and waved back; though James not so enthusiastically.

"Have a seat, Marls." James said, moving over on the couch for her to sit.

Everybody took their seats around the couches that circled each-other slightly out of the way of the dancefloor. Lily appeared moments later, sitting beside Marlene as the group barely knew what to talk about. The whole 'Mary' thing made them uncomfortable.

"So," Lily said, putting her glass down on the table in front of her. "Anybody read the prophet today?"

"The prophet, Lily?" James gave her a knowing look, wondering why she'd bring that up at a party.

"Yeah, why not. It's a part of our lives you know..."

"What is?" Mary asked, tapping her long fingernails against the beer bottle.

"The war."

The group groaned, knowing the conversation was now in the air and it really wasn't anything uplifting to converse about…

"Oh yes… its tragic really. Don't know what I'm going to do after I graduate if it's still happening…" Mary frowned at the thought.

Everybody's ears perked up, confused by what she meant. "What do you mean? Like, whether you'll be an Auror or a nurse?" James asked, his elbows resting on his knees.

Mary laughed, waving a dismissive hand, "No, no. I might just take my business elsewhere. Say, Switzerland."

Marlene's eyes widened in shock, she'd never heard anybody talk about the war like that in her class… Sirius had even caught onto the initial reaction everybody else was carrying.

"Not to like, run away from it or anything right?" Sirius asked, with sheer hope in his voice that he was wrong.

"Sort of, I just don't want to deal with it... It's too tragic."

"Wait a minute, so you're going to run away from your friends and family who will be in our Ministry force trying to protect those around us?" Marlene shook her head, trying to comprehend all of this. Lily nudged her, to relax and Marlene was truly trying hard to.

Sirius gazed up at her, expecting an answer like that to have come out of Mary's mouth, but in different form of course. However, maybe she just didn't understand much about it, and there was time for her to change her direction of thought…

Sirius changed the subject, in an attempt to make sure nobody jumped down each-other's throats. "Big Quidditch game next week, huh Prongs?"

James smiled, now this was a topic he could dive right into. "Oh yeah, we'll be picking new teammates this year too since most of the graduated… and-" His words snipped in half as the room grew quieter all of a sudden.

Mary had flicked her wand over at the turntable, lowering the music exponentially and taking a sip of her beer. "Oh, sorry. Go on. I couldn't hear you over the music."

"Sorry?" Sirius was feeling a bit uneasy now, especially with the looks James kept giving him.

"It's not that much of a good band anyways, they separated before they could really get their music out there."

"Ouch, that's one of Sirius' favourite bands." Peter pointed out.

"Hush, Wormtail." Remus said, taking awkwardly long sips of his drink.

Sirius stood up, taking hold of Mary's hand and helping her up with him, "Here, why don't we… get some air."

As the two walked away, the rest of the group stared them down and out of the room, unable to speak any words except for James' predictable ones. "She's not right for him, man."

Lily slowly nodded.

* * *

 ** _XxX_**

After a couple of hours and drinks, Marlene found herself sitting in the corner with Remus talking about defense against the dark arts class.

"So I told her, sorry our the patronus' don't match up!" Remus finished his joke, as Marlene laughed excessively, nudging him with her hand – maybe trying a bit too hard to grab his attention.

"That's great, I learned to use my patronus earlier on too. I think it was 4th year." Marlene added, taking a swig of her drink.

"Really? What is it, if you don't mind me asking?"

"A dog. A cute, little dog." Her cheeks were flushed, and she may have tossed back more than she should have tonight.

Remus raised his eyebrows in surprise, "Wow, a dog… _interesting."_

"Not as interesting as…. _You_!" Marlene put a hand on his leg, attempting to just tap him playfully but instead anchored down and stayed in place. He watched nervously, as her hand traveled up his leg and he immediately grabbed hold of it.

"Marlene, what are you doing?"

Marlene grinned, "Having fun." She said as if it was obvious. She tried to release her hand and continue her movements, but Remus held her constraint; gaining the anxious looks from her blue eyes. "What's wrong?"

Remus sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Marlene… I'm sorry, I really am. I didn't mean to give you an idea…"

"What idea, you didn't give me an idea. This was my idea."

"No, no, no… What I'm trying to say is… You're a very beautiful girl," Marlene's face glowed with joy overhearing those words – it was something she was never really told to by guys. "But I'm not right for you." Her smile completely faded. "You're somebody else's to take, and you will find that one lucky man at some point, I promise."

Marlene's chest fell hard, as she racked her brain around the thought; maybe he was right. Maybe this wasn't where she was supposed to be right now, "I'm… really embarrassed."

"Please don't be…"

"I'm going to go." Marlene grabbed her purse and hurried out of the room, heading for the Gryffindor Tower.

* * *

 ** _XxX_**

"Did I do something wrong?" Mary asked, as the two made their rounds along the empty corridors.

Sirius shook his head, "Nah, you didn't do anything. They were just trying to be funny… they have an extreme… dry sense of humour…" He chuckled nervously.

"Ah. It was an interesting party nonetheless."

"Yeah? We throw bigger ones for Christmas and New Year's. You should come."

"Maybe I will," Mary grinned. "Not sure if I have enough dresses for each formal occasion…"

Sirius laughed, "Its fine. Besides, you look cute with what you're wearing." Truthfully the pink was quite blinding for him.

"Not so bad yourself, Black."

Sirius sort of enjoyed this time with Mary. Instead of his friends bashing him all night for bringing her, and nothing being around for her to necessarily mess with, like the turntable… it was just the two of them walking and talking; though the talking was kept to a minimum. Sirius looked down at her, bending slightly forward as he smoothly placed his lips on hers; something he had much practice with. She back away quickly, slapping a hand across his face as hers nearly turned red with embarrassment.

"What the bloody hell are you doing!" She yelled, her hands in fists by her side.

"I was just… I thought…" Sirius held the side of his face with his hand, his eyes widened upon reaction.

"You thought what!"

"That you were into me, I don't know!" Sirius shouted back.

"Definitely not! Yeah, you're cute but why would I ever be into you? You've shagged so many girls you can't even count them on one hand, let alone two!"

Sirius became speechless, he had no idea this is how his night would turn out. As she stood there, watching him over angrily with her piercing eyes, his throat grew dry; and sooner than later, she was walking off, wiping her lips with her arm down the hallway into the black. Sirius never felt so confused, and embarrassed before; a girl has never really rejected him like that.

He decided to save him more embarrassment by returning to the party and having to explain all of this to his friends, and instead went back to the common room.

* * *

 ** _XxX_**

Marlene sat on the little maroon couch in front of the fire, resting a small black guitar on her legs and strumming lightly against the chords; stopping every now and then to clear the wetness off her cheeks. She didn't want to talk right now, she just wanted the night to be over with… or maybe change schools and never have to deal with Remus again. She continued strumming on the chords when a familiar voice cracked behind her.

"That's lovely."

She turned around, surprised to see Sirius standing behind her. She quickly cleared her face as best she could, but her reddened puffy eyes went noticeable.

He sat beside her, reluctantly reaching up for her face till her fingers pushed the blonde hair out of her eyes and tucked it behind her ear so he could see the damage done to her face. "What's happened?"

"Nothing…" Marlene looked down at the guitar anxiously, "Here, sorry. I should've asked first." She said, handing the guitar back to its owner.

Sirius grabbed hold of it, reaching for her shoulder and lightly caressing it. "Please don't cry, you can use the guitar if you want… you played beautifully."

Marlene shook her head, "It's not that… I just… my night didn't work out as planned."

Sirius took a deep breath, "Me neither…" He began to play with his finger picking techniques as the two shared their gloomy expressions. "What was it you were just playing?"

Marlene played with her fingernails, disappointed she let anybody see her like this. "Ugh… The Monkees…"

"Ah, that's it." He began to play the same song from the group, singing the lyrics gently which caught Marlene's full attention. She gazed at him playing his instrument, his eyes looking down at his fingers as if a work of art to be done carefully and correctly. His voice was calm and actually relaxed her from all the crying she'd done.

"I'm a little rusty," Sirius said, putting the guitar down.

"No way, that was amazing."

The two shared a short lived grin, till he stood up reaching his hand out for hers. "Hungry?"

"Sure, but the dining hall is closed."

"The Marauders have their secrets." She grabbed hold of his hand and the two ventured down to the kitchens, where they tickled the pear and entered on through. In no time the house elves had prepared them a full dinner with a small chocolate cake for dessert; and it was the best food Marlene had ever had.

"It's better because it's fresh off the grill." Sirius said, stuffing a piece of steak in his mouth.

"I can't believe you've kept this from us. This is the best food I've ever tasted." Marlene said with a mouth full of mashed potatoes.

"So, what happened with your night?" Sirius asked.

"Thought Remus liked me, sorry if this is weird because he's your friend and all…"

"Not at all." He said sincerely.

"Well, turns out I was just being silly…" _For lack of better word._ "You?"

Sirius laughed, "It's stupid… I thought Mary and I hit it off. She didn't act like other girls you know, she didn't cling on to me or try anything weird like most girls do. Though turns out she was actually keeping her distance because I shag too many girls to count."

Marlene was shocked, it was harsh… but it definitely sounded like Mary. "Don't worry, she said the same about me before the party."

"Really? My opinion of her has changed quite a lot in one night…"

"Same, especially when she was talking about the war."

Sirius began digging into the chocolate cake, "Yeah, I felt sort of embarrassed for her. Who just runs away like that?"

"Completely agree. You stay here and you protect your friends and family, you don't run off and hide like a coward."

They may have sounded a bit harsh, but it was something they were both passionate about; the loyalty to their friends and family. They quickly caught on to the similar interests, and suddenly they were looking through a different scope than before.

"Prongs said this stupid this to me this morning…" Sirius began nervously, having a mental battle in his head on if he should finish the sentence.

"Sounds like him, go on."

"He ugh…" Sirius let out a nervous laugh, "He actually said this weird thing about how Mary and I wouldn't work out and I should consider other options."

"Guess you can tell him he was right, then." She said, smiling up at him while biting into the cake.

"Right… he suggested Alice… which is totally weird, she's basically hooked with Frank."

"Agreed, they'll be married the minute they finish graduation."

"Yeah, then there was you."

Marlene's eyes darted up; it was completely unexpected, she'd never in a thousand years think Sirius would be admitting something between them... There was a long pause, and enough time for her to think. It was odd James had said that, because Lily had been hinting the same thing for over a year now; she just never saw it to be an option with how freely Sirius takes his relationships. But after sitting down and talking to the man, she was quickly realizing the appeal to him. He was effortlessly funny, she could laugh at his jokes naturally instead of forcefully like she did with Remus. He was also easy to talk to, which he could say the same for her. Sudden moments began to grow in their minds about the similarities they had together, but never really looked too far into it. It was odd to considering this option, but it sort of felt right.

"Is James still right?" Sirius asked, looking more nervous than she'd ever seen him before.

She felt equally as nervous; her pulse going faster than James' broomstick. "Yeah... I… I think so…"

He leaned in slowly, as she stood frozen in place; gazing down at her lips. "I'm going to try something, I want to know if it's okay."

Marlene nodded, her eyes refusing to move anywhere else but Sirius', and with a slow movement he inched closer till his breath could be felt against her lips. What happened next, was something they'd never took the time to think about before; but their friends surely had. What happened next, is what continued to happen between the two of them for their remaining years of Hogwarts.


End file.
